Q: I have been named trustee in a friend's trust. What do I have to do? Do I have to provide an accounting to anyone?

A: As a successor trustee, you are in a fiduciary position and you need to make sure that you fully understand what you are getting yourself into.

First, before you accept your appointment, make sure you have the time to commit to your position. Serving as a trustee can be time consuming. If your day is already full, you might want to reconsider accepting your appointment.

Also, make sure that you have the minimal skills to serve as a trustee. You don't need to be an expert on the Indiana Trust Code, but you should at least be organized and have a basic understanding of bank accounts, real estate and investments. You should also retain an attorney and possibly an accountant to assist you with the details. Surround yourself with good advisers and you should be able to serve as a competent trustee.

As a successor trustee under a death transfer, the first thing you should do is identify the assets and marshal them. The biggest mistake I see nonprofessional trustees make is to not collect all of the trust's assets.

Hopefully, the grantor will have left you a road map by being organized. You might find a list of assets or locate a drawer where the grantor kept all of the bank statements. A good place to start is by reviewing past tax returns.

If there is real estate involved, make sure that you have secured it and taken the steps to maintain the property. Make sure the windows and doors are locked and that the utilities, taxes and insurance are paid. You don't want to burst a water line simply because you neglected to pay the utility. I speak from experience here: keep the heat on.

Once you have collected and secured the assets, now you can move onto administering the trust. You may need to sell assets and file the appropriate tax returns. There could be a lot of tax returns, including the grantor's final life returns, the trust's fiduciary returns and an inheritance tax return. Make friends with an accountant. I do this for a living, but I still keep my favorite CPA on speed dial.

Finally, after you have administered the trust and paid the appropriate claims, you can think about getting the money out to the beneficiaries. Make sure you understand who gets what. It can be difficult to get a beneficiary to return trust assets that were mistakenly paid to them.

As for the accounting, unless the trust indicates otherwise or the beneficiary waives it, you must prepare and forward an annual accounting to each of the beneficiaries. Keep careful records and be prepared to answer questions. Make sure you speak frequently with your attorney.

After you have collected the assets, paid the bills, filed the tax returns, accounted for your actions and paid the money out, you can think about closing the trust. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Make sure you are prepared to take it on.

My final piece of advice was given to me by one of my favorite law professors: "Don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine".

Opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. Christopher W. Yugo is a member of the Indiana Bar and a vice president and senior trust Officer for First National Bank's Trust Department. Address questions to Yugo in care of The Times, 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN, 46321. Yugo's information is meant to be general in nature. Specific legal, tax, or insurance questions should be referred to your attorney, accountant or estate-planning specialist.